Emma Watson Opens Up About feeling “Demoralized” by Film Promotion, Despite missing Acting
LOS ANGELES, CA – emma Watson, the celebrated actress known for her role in the Harry Potter franchise and films like The Bling Ring and Beauty and the Beast, has revealed a complex relationship with her career, admitting she finds the promotional side of filmmaking deeply “demoralizing.” In a recent interview with Hollywood Authentic,Watson detailed her feelings about the imbalance between creative work and its subsequent marketing,an issue she’s grappled with since stepping back from on-screen roles following 2019’s Little Women.
Watson acknowledged the extraordinary chance her career has provided, recognizing Harry Potter as a pivotal launchpad. However, she expressed a strong aversion to the demands of selling projects over which she lacked important creative control. “A more vital element than the work itself is the promotion and the sale of this work, of this work of art,” she explained. “The balance between these two aspects can be considerably disturbed. I think I will be honest and direct: I am not lacking [it].I found it quite demoralizing.”
This sentiment isn’t new. In a 2023 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Watson described feeling “a little trapped” by the expectation to champion films without having a substantial voice in their creation. “What I found really challenging is to have to sell something on which I did not really have control,” she stated. “In front of a film,each journalist could ask me: ‘How does that correspond to my point of view?’ It was very difficult.”
Despite her reservations about promotion and the pressure that comes with being in the spotlight – a pressure she rediscovered even during a small, informal play with friends – Watson emphasized that she misses the act of acting itself. “I deeply miss it that I can’t use my abilities,” she told Hollywood Authentic. She described the immersive experience of filming as a form of intense meditation, a liberating escape from the outside world.
